Reflection Essay

Coming into Drexel this year, a necessity, I learned was to have a clear understanding of the mechanics for literature composition. I learned that it would mature my writing to a higher level of thinking. This is seen as past experiences in my writing through high school English teacher feedback indicated my writing to be full of flaws. I often would receive feedback on my writing being awkwardly worded or lacking fluidity. The one valuable skill I learned from English 101,102 and 103 was the idea that exposure to different readings, formulas and informal writings give practice, for me to find my own voice in writing.

The first smart goals I chose are to learn to become a leader and to have better time management skills. I chose these because I work on a small unit with no assigned charge nurse. Any day you go in to work it could be your day to be charge nurse so everyone on the unit needs to be able to step up and be a leader. Time management is a skill that every nurse needs to learn. In my opinion, if you have good time management skills it can decrease your stress level and make your workday more organized and enjoyable.

The opportunity to teach at two high schools in the Bronx made me reflect and struggle with the power of stereotypes surrounding the schools because of the reputation of their borough. These stereotypes did not just impact the way that the schools were perceived, but more importantly the way that my students were perceived and labeled based on the stereotypes reinforced through performance on the Regents exam. Since I was not from New York, I did not have a very good understanding of the stereotypes surrounding the schools when I started, but I knew that the Bronx was a scary place based upon the way that it was portrayed to me through media and in New York history. I won’t lie, I was nervous when I realized that I would be working in a high school in the Bronx in my fall placement, but it did not take long for me to realize that I had been led astray and had believed stereotypes that were far from true.

When I was a child, I was a real menace. My mother told me my behavior could clear out a playground. Obviously changes have happened since my playground days and today I’m going to tell you a story prior to my metamorphosis. This is a story that I am not proud to say happened. My parents think it’s funny; however, at the time of the incident they did not. This happened about ten years ago, so I can now look back on it and laugh about what happened with them.

As i a still learning i am/did have trouble with this. This time I am going to connect it into one section(I will try and split them up but they may run together)

Throughout the course of my high school career I have primarily been intellectually interested in the evolution of the law and the role of legal institutions in modern society. I was first drawn to the law when I realized that it often goes beyond punishing or compensating individuals and considers, more broadly, the interests and goals of society at large and the community in which we live.

A red shirt with black jeans. As I approached the building's entrance, I thought nothing of my clothing. Neither did the officers who checked my identification, patted me down, and escorted me. The program coordinator had instructed us not to wear green shirts, to make our clothing distinct from the forest green uniforms of the "inmates." I sat in the classroom, preparing for class, going over readings for the lecture, thinking about possible debate topics, and conversing with the students. A correctional officer entered, glanced around, and declared to the instructor, "There should only be five inmates in here. I'm counting one extra."

When I first started this class I had no idea what to expect, I was nervous since this was my first college English class. After the first couple of classes, I realized I did not have anything to worry about. You were a great teacher that I got along with well. When we had our conference projects mid-semester I was feeling very good about what the second half of the semester.

As I sit here and write this literacy narrative, I reflect on a time in eighth grade when I read a book regrading civil injustice. Back then I wouldn’t have thought to use such fancy words. Instead, something along the lines of “a black boy my age got killed for whistling at a woman! And the murderers didn’t even get in trouble.” So much confusion was attached with my not so politically correct summary of the book. In fact, we read this book in the upmost politically correct way as possible. Derogatory terms such as negro, nigger, and colored was to be renamed and replaced by the word African American. Simple. Nothing too hard to do in eighth grade just switch a word or two around. But how ironic we didn’t go over any set “rules” for the white character’s. No negative connotation related to the word “white” at all. In fact, when we had class discussions for this book it was normal to say “Hiram the white boy went to visit his grandfather in Mississippi.” But if I was to talk about Emmett Till, African American would always be attached to his name. I can admit just like any other person in that class it was weird but we never put too much thought behind it. Just abided by the rules and read.

While the majority of my students are homogenous in terms of race, economic and social class, sexuality, and their technology access, I do have some individual students whose lives do not follow the same uniformity. As a result, I am driven to work even harder to create an inclusive classroom community. While most of the students in my classrooms may fall under the category of “privileged” I also have a percentage of students who do not. In the minds of my students, their disadvantaged statuses are only made more apparent while surrounded by those who do not experience the same hardships.

I read to provoke creativity, gain knowledge, but most importantly, to learn more about myself. With reading pieces, such as nonfiction books and news/magazine articles, I am able to gain insight into my own personal strengths and weaknesses, and ways to better myself as an individual. No matter who one might be, they always have room for improvement, whether it be through their career, health, family life, or anything else, for that matter. It personally bothers me when I see someone, with all the right resources needed to succeed, not apply themselves to their fullest potential. I believe everyone has their own pathway to success, and they have their own means of getting there, but it can only be accomplished with intrinsic motivation.

Being accepted into May’s Business School this past May, I started to think forward to all the exciting job opportunities and different career paths that I could explore. Through the guest speakers and seminar sessions, I have grown to understand the steps needed to succeed in our evolving job market. By enabling myself to take this course I have learned many professional lessons which include; the value networking can have on your job placement, interview preparation, and how ethical behavior in the workplace can affect your performance.

As I approach the end of my first semester freshman, I have learned so much regarding these next four years and beyond though my goals and aspirations are still the same. Even the few people I have met have changed my perception drastically. Through exploration on campus, University of North Carolina at Charlotte has shown me what it has to offer regarding my major and preparation for my future career and I have been reaffirmed that I made the right decision.

When I went to Advisement and Registration, I wanted to un-declare my major. I spoke with my advisor, Sue Lombardo, and she mentioned a two-credit course that would ease the transition into a major that would suit me. Seven weeks after school has begun, I have already formed an idea pertaining to what I want to do with my life. This class has revealed my interests, personality, skills, strengths, and values. All of these things are important to know and I hardly knew anything about them before. I have already applied these aspects in my search for a major, as I want to be sure that the major I choose will satisfy my needs and wants. Additionally, after I graduate I will use the information obtained, through this class, to selectively

For as long as I could remember I never understood how to comprehend shakespeare, or old English poetry such as epics. My first time being introduced to this type of writing was 9th grade where she had us read Romeo and Juliet . At first, I was excited because I had always heard great things about the book and movie. However, I had no idea it was written in a different context. I was introduced to different words and phrases I never heard of . It had reminded me a lot of the bible, how you actually had to put things into perspective yourself because the message would never be as clear. It’s almost like critical thinking, but even knowing that trick I still would have no idea what I was reading or what the message was. We often would